-
Analysis
- 17 minutes ago
Nancy sacking is not enough: Celtic problems 'run deeper,' says Sutton
Tom Weber
- Updated: 5 Jan 2026 21:20 GMT
- 4 min read
News
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton believes that Wilfried Nancy was only a small part of a much larger problem at Parkhead.
The Glasgow giants announced on Monday afternoon that they had parted company with Nancy following the Frenchman's disastrous start to life at Celtic Park.
The 48-year-old lost six of his eight games in charge of the Hoops, most recently suffering a chastening 3-1 home defeat to Rangers that snapped a 152-game streak of scoring first and not losing.
Celtic waited weeks for Nancy to arrive, with the coach joining the club after a hugely successful spell with the Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer, but he has now gone down as one of the worst managers in club history and has been replaced by Martin O'Neill.
Nancy, his coaching staff and head of football operations Paul Tisdale have all lost their jobs, which comes less than a month after chairman Peter Lawwell resigned over "abuse and threats" received from his "detractors." However, Chris Sutton believes that even more change is needed.
Celtic problems run deeper than Nancy
Speaking to Sky Sports, the former Hoops striker insisted that Celtic's problems "run deeper" than simply the manager. Nancy's dismal tenure was a symptom of the issues, not the reason.
"It's a bit like the Ruben Amorim situation at Manchester United, but over a shorter period," he explained. "He was fixated on changing Celtic's style, moving to a 3-4-3, playing one particular way.
"He just wasn't adaptable, and for Celtic to lose six and ship as many goals as they did - it was kamikaze stuff from Nancy. You want to give a manager time, but I think Celtic have acted decisively because there is a league title to win.
"The players have to take their share of responsibility. Poor form has not just been under Nancy; there were issues at the start of the season. Brendan Rodgers wanted more quality brought to the club, that didn't happen.
"It was an unsavoury end. Things brightened up a bit under Martin O'Neill, he did a brilliant job, but the team weren't playing particularly well. Nancy came in and tore everything up, but the problems do run much deeper than Nancy.
"Nobody knows what Paul Tisdale was doing at the club. Dr. Do-little. He had a large say in bringing Nancy in, and if he had a hand in recruitment over the summer, that was also poor.
"It's the right decision for him to part ways. Now Celtic are under pressure because this squad needs strengthening in January and quickly."
Football transfer news headlines today
EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal open contract talks with Kai Havertz
EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal monitoring Newcastle star Tino Livramento
CONFIRMED: Man City in talks over January deal for Marc Guehi
DONE DEALS: Every official completed transfer around Europe today
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
